West Ham are interested in bringing Douglas Luiz back to English football, according to reports in the Italian media.
The Brazilian international only made the switch from Aston Villa to Juventus at the end of June but Gazzetta Dello Sport claim that he could be offloaded just six months after his move to Italy.
Luiz has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter under head coach Thiago Motta and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli is keen to raise money for other signings.
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Gazzetta report that both the Hammers and Fulham are targeting the former Manchester City player ahead of the January transfer window.
Luiz would bolster Julen Lopetegui’s options in midfield
West Ham do already have the likes of Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez, Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek to call upon in the middle of the park.
However, Luiz’s profile is not one that the Irons currently have available to them. He is a ball-playing midfielder who likes to sit deep.
He thrived in that position during his time at Villa, and it led to Arsenal tabling three bids for the player a couple of years ago. However, his move to Juve was believed to be forced upon the Villans as they needed to balance the books.
West Ham don’t have a massive transfer budget
Luiz cost Juventus €50m (£42m) plus add-ons in the summer and that is not an amount that the Hammers could spend on the player in January due to budgetary constraints.
Technical director Tim Steidten is also in the market for a new striker so the club’s resources are rather limited. Any offer for Luiz would probably have to be a loan deal with an option to buy at the end of the season.
Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here